Numerous devices are known for which one or more seals are required to seal joints in the device. Pumping devices, vacuum devices, engines, jointed delivery channels (e.g., hoses, tubing, etc.), reservoir chambers for liquid and/or gaseous materials, storage vessels, etc. all require some type of seal in order to function properly. As the positive or negative pressure at which such devices operate is increased, the need for proper sealing similarly increases if the device is to function properly, if at all.
The designs of many such devices, if otherwise unconstrained, would include two or more intersecting joints that must be sealed. Often, however, the feasibility of forming proper seals of intersecting joints proves more difficult than redesigning the device itself to avoid such intersecting joints, even where such redesign results in a relatively less desirable, less efficient, and/or more costly design.